


An inseparable bond.

by Sparda



Category: Gintama
Genre: Cohabitation, Established Relationship, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:21:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27685519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sparda/pseuds/Sparda
Summary: Living with Katsura in the new country was different. It was irritating. It was cozy. It was filled with small details he was not used to, but the only constant in his whole life remained by his side.
Relationships: Katsura Kotarou/Sakata Gintoki
Comments: 8
Kudos: 33





	An inseparable bond.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Print for checking that this made some sense before posting it.
> 
> On November, japanese fandom celebrate two things: The anniversary of the "I'll be your general" chapter, and also the "Good Married Couples' Day". I felt like submitting something short for those days!  
> I love, love, LOVE GinZura so much! I want more people to write for them from now on!  
> Enjoy!

**1.**

_“Whether we live or die, we’ll do it together…”_

This was an ordinary night for Gintoki. He would smell like alcohol after going to a couple of bars and, with loose control over his limbs, he would do his best to reach home. He would not lose consciousness nowadays: those days when he buried his darkest regrets with drink were far gone. 

There was also another recent development in his life. Passing in front of the old Yorozuya place, yet not going inside, he would instead enter a house close by. The house was wider and with two floors. It was not a new building, but one could see remodeling work was done in the present year. Gintoki opened the sliding door of the entrance without asking for permission first. It was different, yet the scent inside was familiar. 

The irritating aspect of this development was how the lights of the house were still lit when he entered, even if it was one or two in the morning, like if the place was awaiting for him. After taking off his boots, Gintoki sighed. 

“I’m home,” he said with a sleepy tone, “Zura, are you awake?”

“I’m not Zura, I’m Katsura,” a man in his thirties wearing a light blue yukata appeared out of the illuminated room into the main entrance. “Welcome home, Gintoki.”

When he was with Kagura and Sadaharu in his old home, Gintoki would just enter in silence since he did not want to wake the girl up. If he were feeling too tired, he would just throw himself on top of the sofa or sleep on his futon without changing clothes since sleep would come quick. 

Living with Katsura was different: He would wait for Gintoki at night when he arrived home. 

With a scolding tone, the man would say “look at you, you smell of poorness paahead,”, wrap Gintoki’s arm around him and take him to the bathroom so he could brush his teeth first.

When Gintoki finished washing his mouth and face, he walked to their bedroom, where two very close futons were ready to be used. 

“Come here,” Katsura said with a soft smile and inviting arms, which Gintoki calmly approached. Delicate yet firm hands busied themselves unwrapping the taller man’s obi and white kimono. Dark red eyes stared deeply at the figure in front of them. 

“Did you have fun? Please do not tell me you lost some bet or something like that. Turn around. I will take off your clothes.” 

“What are you, my mom? I told you I can take care of myself these days.”

“I’m not your mom, I’m Katsura. Maybe if you did not behave like a young teen spending all his allowance in booze I would not scold you.”

“I told you you don’t have to wait for me to arrive home every night. Gin-san feels guilty now, oi,” Gintoki pulled out his black shirt and pants, while Katsura extended his hand to give him his pajamas. 

“Well, it is the duty of the husband to wait until his partner arrives home. It is what I get for choosing such a slacker,” Katsura replied with a smile on his face. 

Katsura smiled gently, and yet Gintoki worried about the dark circles appearing under his eyes. Gintoki still had his yorozuya work, while the other man had a position in the new government as advisor for Prime Minister Soyo, meaning he had to wake up earlier during weekdays. And yet… 

The samurai with silver hair approached the man next to him and circled an arm around his waist, pulling him close. Their foreheads touched. 

“I am sure I mentioned to a very stubborn wig, a long time ago,” Gintoki commented in a whisper, “that when this wig was around me, he could be just ‘Zura’. Not a prime minister, or a revolutionary, or a vigilant, not even an obedient husband. Just ´Zura´.”

Katsura’s hands touched Gintoki’s face as their eyes connected.

“I promised I would be your left arm, and I like taking care of you, so let me do it. These are peaceful times after all. Now let’s go to sleep. I have to work in the morning,” Katsura whispers back playfully, “like any decent citizen of this country should.” 

"Whatever you say, Zura.”

Katsura turned off the remaining lights of the house, returning to the room afterwards. They both entered their futons with their bodies relatively close to each other. Katsura tied his hair and laid down, his figure facing Gintoki’s and supporting his weight with one of his arms. With the opposite hand, he brushed Gintoki’s silver hair curls, an endearing expression printed on his face. They looked at each other without saying much; their own presence was reassuring enough. 

Their lips met, and Gintoki felt suddenly more drunk than ever before in his life.

"Good night, Gintoki.” 

“Good night to you, you sentimental wig.” 

“Hold my hand, Gintoki. I don’t want you to be scared of the monsters at night.”

“Oi, that was because we saw that horror movie the other night.”

Soft giggles could be heard inside the room. As Gintoki’s eyes closed, the last image he saw was his partner’s sleeping face. He imagined himself going out to drink only during the weekends from now on. 

* * *

**2.**

_In a distant memory inside of a dream, Utsuro was defeated and Takasugi found peace. In an unbelievable instant, Shouyou met his kids._

When everything was collapsing around them, Gintoki remembered Katsura’s dignified pose, saying he would wait for everyone to be safe. It was his mission. Gintoki wanted to talk to Katsura about their mutual comrade, and yet the man did not ask for any explanations from him. It was like Gintoki’s feelings were instantly understood by his friend. In situations like this it was when Gintoki felt surprised by his perceptive nature. 

Sakamoto Tatsuma, the fourth element to their unbeatable team would, in turn, be able to translate the feelings of Katsura Kotaro to Gintoki, even if Katsura did not say it directly.

 _“Whether we live or die, we’ll do it together.”_

Gintoki did not find the words at the moment, but he knew his soul wanted to say something important back to Katsura.

The yorozuya could not find the best time, between Katsura transforming into a weird vigilante along his pet Elizabeth, or himself trying to restore his business at the beginning of a new country and a new chapter in everyone’s lives. But Gintoki could notice at times how Katsura’s eyes seemed a little lost, trying to find a relevant duty for himself in the current era. 

Gintoki was sitting in the middle of a park, wondering and watching the autumn leaves fall and dance around with the wind. He did not expect Katsura to find him at such a place with his typical confident smile. Time slowed down and Gintoki’s eyes focused on the figure approaching him. It was irritating and made him feel inside of a shoujo manga. He gave Zura a bump in the head for distracting him. 

They walked together in the middle of the park. Katsura’s long hair moved along with the wind. They avoided talking about the past; the grief was long enough for them in their own ways of managing it, so they moved to brighter and more casual conversation topics. They discussed stuff like the kids, the status of the Yorozuya, and even about Otose and Elizabeth. Sometimes their hands would brush like a caress without warning, both men not saying a word and Gintoki with a festival of warmth inside his heart. The memories of their short conversation months ago emerged.

But then Katsura said goodbye, turning around, and Gintoki panicked. He did not want to feel the ridiculous cold breeze of the imaginary distance between them, so he took his wrist firmly.

“Zura, wait!” he begged, “I wanted to tell you something ever since the battle at the Terminal ended.”

“What is it, Gintoki?”

His hands were sweating nervously. Why was he this nervous? He was just Zura!

“But because it is Zura, I am feeling this way,” Gintoki thought. Staring at Katsura’s face, with a newfound resolve, he continued. 

“Zura, I am going to say this once, so listen well to Gin-san here. We survived the war and now the country is alright. I can continue my work as Odd Jobs and you are not a criminal anymore. You can do anything you want now. And you are my constant. I cannot imagine life without an idiot like you, What I want to say is: Let’s live together, Katsura-”

Katsura’s body was already hugging him, trembling. 

“G-Gintoki!”

“Agh! Zura, you moron! What are you doing?! You are hugging me too tight! Stop crying! You are not cute, dammit!”

“It’s not Zura, it’s Katsura! And get used to it - we are destined to be together, Gintoki.”

The wind was cold around the pair, adorned by red and yellow leaves. But Gintoki did not notice any coldness as he was hugging back his partner. To him, it was spring.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this fic! I hope you liked it.
> 
> As you could see, this fic has two parts.  
> The first one was born from the idea I had that Zura would be the kind of person who would wait for his partner or kids until late at night for them to arrive home safe. It is just the maternal aspect of his personality. :)
> 
> The second part could be interpreted as being Gintoki's dream, and it is also one of several scenarios about how he would tell Zura to live together. I live it when Gintoki crushes on Zura and also Gintoki pursuing him somehow. (I love the scenario of Zura surprising Gintoki as well... I think this is a pairing that goes both ways! In this work, the first part has Zura being sweet to Gintoki, and the second part has Gintoki being sweet to Zura.)
> 
> About the title, "an inseparable relationship" is the title of the "Ginzura only" even the japanese fandom had on Nov. 22nd, and also how Gintoki has described his bond with Zura in some gintama old games. It is a bond he cannot get rid off even if he tried to. This is also related to what Sakamoto says regarding Zura's words at the end of the battle at the Terminal, when Zura waits for Gintoki and the kids so they can all escape. It is... so good.


End file.
